Current views on use of the moon in human exploration and development of space

Abstract

The Moon has long been a part of our consciousness. Although 30 years have passed since our first human journey, we have returned only through the use of observation satellites. Spurred, in part, by the prospect of at least 3 billion metric tonnes of water ice at each pole of the Moon as indicated by both Clementine and Lunar Prospector, a renewed interest in utilizing the resources and venue of the Moon as an aid to human exploration and development of space has once again encouraged long-time advocates of lunar utilization. International organizations, such as the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA), have continuously championed the return of humans to the Moon. Meetings such as the Commercial Lunar Base Symposium in July 1999 and International Astronautical Federation (IAF)/IAA-sponsored International Astronautical Congress in Amsterdam, the Netherlands in October 1999 have generated a new impetus. Briefings at these meetings by industrial companies, the European Space Agency (ESA), NASA, and the National Space Agency of Japan (NASD A) plus private individuals and representatives of several universities have all indicated a renewed interest in future lunar use. Many prospective approaches were taken to the technical, political, legal, andpotential commercial development of the Moon. Work reported included Lunar Prospector results; the use of propellant mined and manufactured on the Moon; legal aspects; new enabling technologies; long-range, lunar-base architecture; logistics; and the role of lunar materials in base construction and solar power systems. Several papers dealt with various aspects of commercialization, and plans for lunar programs by NASDA, the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS) and ESA were promulgated. Teams are forming to begin the first steps toward humankind's return to our Moon as a site to develop, as a testbed and resource supply source for future exploration system development, and eventually as a factory for products needed on the Moon, in space, and on Earth.